Thursday, February 01, 2007

Why Study Abroad ? Dancing With Cute Italians !!

The ANNOTICO Report

 

I don't write this stuff. I just Report it!! :)

 

Dancing With Cute Italians

Just one of many benefits to studying abroad

Daily Utah Chronicle

University of Utah, Independent Student Voice

Beth Ranschau

February 1, 2007

 

When was the last time you left the state? How about the country? Maybe... it's time to expand your horizons..

 

...You might think that a study-abroad course won't fit in with your schedule or that it's just something superfluous that rich kids do to have an excuse to party in Mexico, but studying abroad can actually be an affordable and enriching experience that may help you get closer to graduation.

Think that you don't have time to study abroad? Many summer programs take place in a five-week span and give students as many as eight credit hours....Besides earning college credit, the experiences are well worth the cost.

One obvious advantage of studying abroad is learning a foreign language. While we'd all like to believe that after two years of rigorously memorizing verbs and adjectives we'd be fluent in German, you'll probably be lucky if you can remember how to conjugate a verb a year from now. A study-abroad program in a foreign country forces you to use the knowledge that you've already gained in your language courses and put all that work into practice.


Beyond the advantages of language acquisition, experiencing another culture will help you understand the world better than the Travel Channel ever could. Many programs place students with host families. By boarding with a host family, students are actually exposed to new people, new food and culture. Even if your program doesn't house you with a host family, living in a foreign city gives you other opportunities to visit historical sites and interact with the local culture. ...

Attending the study-abroad fair today will allow you to talk to other students who have experienced study abroad and decide if it's something that will fit into your schedule. Even if you can't afford to study abroad this summer, planning ahead now will help you budget for a program next summer. If you don't have time to stop by the fair, students can also find information about programs, applications and scholarships simply by visiting the International Center's study-abroad Web site, www.sa .utah.edu/inter/sap.

And if the extra credit hours and the low cost don't convince you, consider this:...you can always explore other various "cultural activities," such as dancing with cute Italian soccer players. What better cultural experience could you ask for?

 

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